Page 35 of Somehow You Knew

He pushes a hand through his hair. “We knew you were getting married, but not this fast. But honestly, it doesn’t surprise me we weren’t invited, given how Dallas reacted when she told us about you two.” Before I can reply, he continues. “I guess that makes you my brother-in-law now, doesn’t it?”

I shrug, hating the label since I know this marriage is only temporary, and any relationship I have with her family will be too. “Yeah, it does.”

He clasps a hand on my shoulder. “Well, hopefully that means you’ll be willing to consider my offer for this house when the time comes.”

“I’m sure we can discuss it.”

Knowing that her brothers don’t know the true reason we’re married doesn’t sit well with me. Penn thinks I’m in love with his sister. He thinks we fell madly in love and couldn’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together.

With each passing day, I’m hating the arrangement we agreed to more and more.

“I appreciate that,” Penn says, taking a step closer to me, his size suddenly feeling a whole lot more intimidating. Then he lowers his voice and I see the nice guy demeanor slip away.

Here we go.

“Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let me be clear about something.” His jaw clenches. “My little sister is one of the best fucking people on this planet. She may be outspoken, stubborn, and a little crazy, but that girl loves hard. If you do anything to hurt her, you’ll not only have me to answer to, but her two other brothers as well.” His eyes narrow. “I have a hard time believing that my sister—who swore off love last year—met some guy and decided to marry him within a week. It’s not like her at all. So, if I find out that you’re hiding something, that your motives are anything but pure, just know that I have many power tools at my disposal.” He holds my gaze, unblinking. “Have I made myself clear?”

I swallow around a lump in my throat but straighten my spine. “Crystal. Though, if you have questions about anybody’s motives,she’sthe one you should be speaking to. I’m just going along with what she wanted.”

Penn grunts. “She can be a difficult person to say no to.”

“Believe me, I’m discovering that myself.”

We hold eye contact for a beat before he finally takes a step back. With a dip of his chin, he says, “Pleasure to meet you, Gage.”

And just like that, he turns and heads back to his truck, leaving me standing there, realizing how much more complicated this marriage is getting by the hour.

***

“So, Axel said you could work there for now?” Hazel flicks the blinker on and waits for traffic to clear before turning.

We’re headed to her brother Dallas’s house for her nephew’s first birthday party. I offered to drive, but she said arriving on my motorcycle would only add fuel to the interrogation waiting for us.

“He did. He was happy to have an extra set of hands. And once I showed him my portfolio, including work I did on Fletcher Adams, he was more than eager to hire me.”

“Wait… Fletcher Adams, the receiver for the Carolina Thunder?”

“The one and only.”

She lets out a low whistle. “Oh, how the plot thickens.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” she says too quickly.

Yeah, okay.I make a mental note to return to this topic later.

“By the way, I met Penn yesterday.”

Her grip on the wheel tightens and she darts a glance my way. “And you’re just now telling me this?”

I wasn’t exactly eager to bring it up, and last night she got home late from a wedding shoot, so we barely got a chance to talk. But now that we’re almost at our destination, I figure I should give her a heads-up so she isn’t blindsided like I was when Penn showed up and delivered his big brother spiel. He clearly assumes real feelings are involved, and Hazel and I agreed there’d be none of those—no matter how hard my heart beats around her, which isn’t a great thing for me for multiple reasons.

“He stopped by my aunt’s house while I was packing up the first load of stuff to donate. Saw the ‘For Sale’ sign and asked if I had a buyer yet.”

Hazel rolls her eyes. “Of course he did. He buys houses and turns them into rentals.”

“That’s what he explained to me…before he threatened me.”